Process of and apparatus for setting casing and screen in wells and cementing



June 26; 1923.

W. Bv. REED PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR SETTING CASING AND SCREEN IN WELLS AND CEMENTING Filed March 5oA j 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet l IM/ venian June 26, 1.923.

W. B. REED PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR'SETTING CASING AND SCREEN IN WELLS AND CEMENTING Filed March 30 1222 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 IllllllflllflllllllIllllllll Y IMQ/ratio: Haq

`lune 26, 1923;

w. B. REED l PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR SETTING DASING AND SCREEN IN WELLS AND CEMENTING 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 30 11.14', www,

' 50 ,g move screen and packers and thus running thelrisk of ruining the well. i 1

Patented .lune 26, 1923.

sra'ias 1,459,989 marcar carica.

WARREN B. REED, OF MORGAN CITY, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH T J. R. SUMAN, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, AND ONE-FOURTH TO E. A. PHARE, ONE-EIGHTH TO W. G. REED, AND ONE-EIGHTII T0 WALTER HEPLER, ALL 0F MORGAN CITY,

LOUISIANIA.

PROCESS O F AND APPARATUS FOR SETTING CASING AND SCREEN IN WRLLS AND' CEMENTING.

Application led March 80, 1922. Serial No.v 548,068.

To all lwhom it may concern.

Be it known that I, WnRREN B. REED, a citizen of the United States, residing at Morgan City, parish of St. Mary, Louisiana,

5 have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in av Process of and Apparatus for Setting Casing and Screen in Wells and Cementing, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, such as will en- ]0 able others skilled in the art to which it appertains to' make and use the same.

My invention relates to the' construction of an improved apparatus for setting screen and casing in wells and cementing same, and also in an improved process to beemployed in the setting of the said casing and screen, and cementino the same in thewell.

An object o? my invention is to-provide an efficient process by which means the setting of screen, and casing, and the cementing thereof may be carried out in one continuous operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide an eicient process of setting screen and cementing which will necessitate the employment of but one string of pipe.

Another object is'to provide a process of this character in which'the screen and casing may be set and cemented in a hole of uniform diameter toward the lower end and in which the top water may 'beeectively cut 0H' from the screen.

Another object is to provide a process of handling apparatus of this construction is entire y prevented, and whereby any' ascending gas is entirely .shut off and thereby prevented from mixing with the4 liquid cement.

Another object dis .to construct an apparae tus by means of which the setting and cementing operations may bel eiciently carried out where no reduction in the diameter of the hole is made above the pay stratum. Another object is to provide a process and apparatus Whereb the screen may' .be set and tested, and i? the pay stratum, is not found satisfactory the hole may be deepened and further test made lwithout having-torewhereby the passage of the cement belowv lar broken longitudinal section showing the type of tool employed in removing the wash pipe, and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section showing the apparatus ready for cementing.` 'In the use of my device it ,is understood that the well will be of uniform diameter toward the lower end, the hole being drilled of full size directly into thepay stratum. In this condition of the well,1 employ a device such asis disclosed in the drawing.

I have, at the lower end of the assembled 75 A device, a shoe 1, having a forward flattened blade 2 secured thereto and internally threaded at 3 for attachment to a section of pipe 4 enclosing the wash plug 5. Between the lower. erd of the pipe 4 and the lower 80 end of the threaded seat 3 in the Shoe'l, I secure the usual back-pressure valve 6, of` ordinary construction. The wash plug section is secured to the rscreen 7 by means of a collar or coupling 8.

An intermediate liner 9 vmay be used 'at option between the screen 7 and the packer 15. I have therefore shown above the screen a section 9 secured by means of a. coupling j 10 to the said screen. At the u per end of 90 the liner 9 I connect by means o a-coupling 11 a second section of liner 12. The coupling 11 is threaded on its inner face for attachment to the two liner sections and forms an attaching means for a threaded plate of 95 brass'or other similar material. Said late has acentral opening, also threaded,to erm an attachment for the upper end of thewash Vvpipe 14. Thus the plate 13 forms a,V diaphragm closing the upper endof the linerh leo -9' except forthe opening in which the wash pipe is seated. `Said wash pipe extends downwardl through the liner and screen and is tted sli ably into the wash plug 5 m the 4Q As the casing is lowered it is filled with usual manner. Water forced down through said wash pipe will flush the outer side of screen and casing.

The section of liner 12 is especially formed to accomodate the collapsible packer 15 secured thereto. To form a mounting for the said packer the lower lend of the liner I .section is thickened somewhat, providing l -is reached the screen 7 is washedv on the' shoulder 16 against which the lower end of the packer is seated. This packer may be a canvas packer of ordinary construction secured at the lower end by means vof windingsof wire 17 for attachment to the liner. bpaced somewhat below the upper end of the liner section the pipe 1s perforated at 18 to allowv passage of fluidin the use of my device, as will be later explained. Outside of vthese openings, and covering the same, is a collar or sleeve 19, secured to the pipe by means of a. plurality of small rivets or pins 20, These pins are of brittle construction so that they may be broken when desired. The thickness of the -said collar is reduced -below the upper en'd coupling to the casing 28.

In the operation of my improved apparatus the device is assembled as shown 1n.

Figs. 1 and 2 andlowered at the end of the casmg v28 to the bottom of the well.

water in such manner that when the bottom outside by pumping through the casing and the wash .pipe 14 a discharge of clear water.

After this, the screen is lowered. on to the bottom of the hole,'the blade 2 securing same. against ready rotation.

.y The casing 1s then rotated in the usual right-hand direction, which' serves to unscrew downwardly the joint at 21 and allow the nipple "22 to telescope down over the liner and contact with the'upper end of the collar 19. Slack 1s then given 'the casing and ,its welght wlll serve to break or shear off the pins 20 and ycause the packer to expand. n

this operation the collar 19 may be driven down into about theposition lshown in-Fig. 4 and the packer will befforced together, soz as to fill tightly the space between the casingv and the wall of the hole.

' l This operation may be assisted by reciprocatingI the casing so as to exert a tamping action on'the packer. Af'terthe packer has been thus expanded, the casing is raised to the position shown in Fig. 6 and drilling lished the pumping and rotating may be continued while preparations are being completed for the process of cementing.

The cementing of the casing may be carried out by any one of several approved methods now in common practice. It is possible to cement the casing by ywhat is known as the plug method, using one or two plugs as may be desired; or by the v arious adaptations ofthe tube method.

With the packer set as shown in Fig. 6, and the casing 22 liftedto expose one or more of the holes 18,cement may be pumped directly down through the casing, expelling the drilling fluid therein through the holes 18, and up around the casing to the surface, when the cement column reaches the holes 18`it vwill.follow' thesame course until as much cement has been placed outside the casing as is desired. .The casing may then be rotated to properly= distribute the cement around same and prevent the channelling thereof. The casing will then belowered until it rests with full weight upon the collar 19. This lowering. of the casing eiiectually closes the openings 18 and leaves theI cement on the outside of the casing in position to set.

A drill stem is thenl introduced into the i casing, lowered to the bottom for. the purpose of washing out the remaining cement.

If the tube method of cementing be-employed the 'drill stem 29 is `fitted with a nipple 30- at the lower end thereof, `(see Figs. 3 and 4.) Said nipple is provided at its forward endwith atapered plug l"31 adaptstem and plug are 'thus lowered to the seat within the upper end ot' the wash pipe, the

drill stem and casing are tted with a'cev menting head on the fioor of the derrick in the usual manner, and cement is-pumped Vdown through the drill stem, through the openings 32 into the casing; flowing upwardlyrto .the openings 18 and is lforced outwardly into the space above,v the packer and outside the casing. l'lhe4 rotating of lthe casing and the lowering onto the packer is performed as previously described and the outside cement closed off. Water may then be pumped down 'through the drill stem to vWash out the remaining cement in the drill stem and casing. After the washing is per- -formed the apparatus is allowed to stand until the cement is thoroughly set. It is obvious that whatever method of cementing be employed the packer will effectually vclose the space above the screen, preventing any cement from settling downward into the pay sands orany gas on fluids from the sands ing above, making, in this manner, an efthe outside.

fective closure for the gases`or fluids in the pay sands and avoiding any possibility of the well blowing in prematurely. When the cement has been properly set the casing may be tested by'forcing water downwardly into the casing by full pump pressure. 'lf no liquid escapes upwardly outside of the casing it will be seen that the'seal is tight. It is also possible to remove the drill stem and bail out the casing in the usual manner toascertain whether liquid can find an entrance'thereto from If the cement is 4found to be properly set and the casing tight, the/wash pipe may then be removed.

This operation of removing the ywash pipe is performed by means of a rotary shoe 33 such as is shown in Fig. 5. This shoe is connected. with the lower end of the drill stem and is toothed at its lower end as shown at 34 so that in the rotation thereof the plate 13 will be milled through and the pipe will telescope over the wash pipe. I con.- template providing spring clips 35 or some ordinary overshot device on the interior of the pipe above the shoe so that when` the said pipe is'withdrawn the cli s will enno further operation will be necessary. lfL however, the well does not produce and it is desired to drill further, this operation may be performed by introducing the drill down through the casing and the screen so as to cut away the wash plug 5,'back pressure valve and the blade 2 and the well then deepened. It will be thus noted that very .little danger of ruining the well, as where withdrawal of the screen liners is attempted need be anticipated.

The advantages of this process of cementing a well, wherein the hole 1s or uniform diameter, will be obvious to one skilled in the art. But one string of pipe will be necessary in setting the screen, and the process of cementing will be made positive and certain. One continuous operation will serve to completely cement and finish the well. My packer will effectively close off the screen-from above. There will be no leakage of cement down about the screen ,and there will be no bubbles of gas finding their way into the'cement before the same is properly set. The apparatus is simple in its construction and easily operated. The use of a full-sized. h ole instead of the usual reduction in size of the hole enables the producer to get the benefit of a full-sized opening in the pay stratum.

Having thus described my invention, the c further Aobjects and advantages of which willl be apparent withoutfurtheil explanation, What I claim is new and desire to protect b Letters Patent is:

1. n the operation of 'completing a well, the process of introducing into the hole'a casing, wash pipe andscreen, washing the screen, setting the screen on the bottom, expanding a packing means above said screen, washing the outside of said casing above the packer, closing said screen from the interior of said casing, cementing the space about said casing above said packing means,

lowering said casing lonto esaid packer,

Washing thev interior of said casing, opening said wash pipe, washing said screen and removing said wash pipe.

2. In the operation of completing awell, the process of introducing into the hole a casing, 4wash pipe and screen, washing the screen, setting the screen on the bottom, closing the space -outside said casing above the end of said screen, cementing the hole -at the lower end of said casing, washing said screen and removing said wash pipe.

3. The process of completing a well comprising fixing a screen to the casing, introducing the screen into the hole, washing said screen, setting said screen on the bottom of the hole, shutting of the exit for fluid from the screen both outside andinside the casing, cementing the hole around said casing above said screen, washing the casing and opening the passage from the interior of said casing to said screen.'

4. The process of completing` a well com- -prising inserting a casing and screen to the bottom of the hole, washing the outside of Asaid screen, setting a packer above said screen outside said-casing, cementing the hole above the packer, rotating said casing, washing the interior of the casing. i

5. The process of completing a well comprising inserting casing and screen into the ole, tting a packer outside said casing above said screen, c ementinwI around said casingv above Isaid packer, anallowing said f cement to set.

6. The process ofcompleting a well of' uniform diameter comprisingloweringr casing with screen attached to the bottom of thehole, closing the space above the screen outside said casing, cementing above said closed space, and allowingthe cement to set.

7. The process of completing' a well ofy uniform diameter comprising lowering casing and screen to the bottom of the hole, closing the hole above said screenl outside and inside said casing, ,cementing above said screen outslde sald casing, openlng the passage inside said casing to said screen and washing said screen.

8. The processv of completing a well comsaid perforatlons.

prising loweringr a casing with screen attached to the bottom of the hole, cutting olf escape of fiuid upwardly from around said screen, and then-opening the passage from said casing' downwardly to said screen. 9. An apparatus of the character described com rising a screen, a, wash pipe with Wash p ate and plug andvback pressurel valve in combination with a liner secured to said screen, said liner having an exterior outstanding threaded ortion adjacent the upper end thereolz' and) p'erforations below said threaded portion, a casing secured 'to said -liner, a sleeve 'covering said perforaf tions, va packer on said liner scoured to said sleeve. means to hold said sleeve normally in position and means secured to said threaded portion to release said sleeve and expand said packer.

10. `An apparatus of the character described comprising a Screen, a wash pipe,

11. In an apparatus of the character described, a perforated liner, a sleeve secured detachably thereto, a' packer on said liner secured at its upper end to said sleeve, a c asing telescoping over said liner and having releasable connection therewith, whereby said casing may act when disconnected from said liner to force said sleeve downwardly and expand said packer.

In testimony whereof., I hereunto aiix my signature, this the 25th day of March, A. D.

WARREN B. REED. 

